Seaside may finally get a soccer field.

Seaside, which has a population of approximately 35,000, does not have a park with a soccer field. That fact has not gone unnoticed by some, and this past February, following a strategic plan retreat, the city’s recreation department was tasked with studying potential uses of Cutino Park.

The park, at San Pablo Avenue and Lowell Street, has roughly 2 acres of playing surface that’s a patchy, under-utilized baseball field. The hope is to make it into something much more.

“It’s frustrating that our city doesn’t have a park to play soccer, football, rugby or any of that,” says Councilmember Dave Pacheco, a former supervisor with the city’s recreation department, and who’s long been a champion of improving the city’s parks.

At the Oct. 6 Seaside City Council meeting, recreation officials presented on a series of potential upgrades, including a field, to the park. Among the improvements proposed: converting the field to synthetic turf, fixing damaged fencing and making required ADA accessibility upgrades.

Those improvements alone would cost an estimated $1.3 million. A host of other potential improvements, like updating the restrooms, playground and revamping the basketball courts, would add another $550,000.

“This is a potential legacy project for this city and this council,” Pacheco said at the meeting.

City Council hasn’t taken action yet regarding the improvements, which are expected to come back to council before the year’s end with identified funding sources for the turf.

If approved, the field could be open by fall 2017.